On a scorching May morning, I had taken a break from touring these structures to drop by the finest hotel in Bagan, the ancient Burmese capital, an hour's flight north of Yangon, Myanmar. Opened in 2005, the Aureum Palace Hotel sprawls across 27 acres and encompasses a sushi bar, spas, fountains, more than 40 guest rooms and 72 villas. The best of these, the $1,090-a-night Island Villa, includes a lap pool, a sun deck with temple views and a personal valet.

There was only one problem with the Aureum Palace Hotel: its owner. The hotel is the property of U Tay Za, reportedly the richest man in the country -- and a close associate of its former military dictator, Gen. Than Shwe. Owner of Air Bagan and Asia Wings (the country's biggest private airlines), five other luxury hotels and beach resorts in Myanmar, and the Htoo Group, a conglomerate that includes mobile-phone services and timber concessions, Mr. Tay Za has been described by the United States Department of the Treasury as a ''notorious henchman and arms dealer.'' After the 2007 Saffron Revolution, when the junta killed dozens of pro-democracy demonstrators and arrested thousands more, the Bush administration froze his assets and blocked him and his family from traveling to the United States.

In the new Myanmar, though, Mr. Tay Za has apparently changed his ways. Following the lead of Myanmar's reformist government, this former crony of the junta is embracing philanthropy and what his son recently described to Reuters as ''foundation work.'' And even though he remains on the Treasury's blacklist, it seems that Western tourists have begun to feel comfortable staying at his hotels. After struggling to fill its rooms for years, the Aureum Palace had an occupancy rate last winter of 80 percent.

Over the past year, Bagan and other destinations in Myanmar have drawn an increasing number of tourists, following the encouraging actions of President Thein Sein. Since taking office in an election that was stage-managed by the military junta in November 2010, Myanmar's leader has freed hundreds of political prisoners, eased censorship laws and established a cordial working relationship with the Nobel Peace Prize-winning opposition leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Meanwhile, President Obama has eased most sanctions; in July, Mr. Thein Sein addressed American business executives gathered in Cambodia, urging them to invest in his country.

For the travel industry, the repercussions have been profound. Companies that once struggled to persuade clients to visit Myanmar have been deluged: Abercrombie & Kent saw a 90 percent increase in the number of Myanmar-bound tourists between the first quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012; Indochina Travel, headquartered in San Francisco, reported that its Myanmar business has grown from 15 percent of bookings to 35 percent over the past 18 months.

''We believe that it will go up to three-quarters of our business,'' said Patrick Morris, a director, who described visiting the country as taking a step back in time. ''Even the most touristy place in Myanmar still feels authentic,'' he said. ''Nobody there knows that they should be selling you a T-shirt.''

With its lush landscapes, Buddhist culture and the mysterious allure of a country that for decades has had limited contact with the outside world, Myanmar has long held a special attraction for adventurous travelers. Tourists began trickling into this former British colony, bordered by China, India, Thailand, Bangladesh and Laos, in the late 1970s when the going was far rougher than it is today. Back then, the government usually issued one-week visas and restricted visitors to a prescribed itinerary. Today tourists typically receive visas that are valid for up to 28 days. Luxury hotels have sprung up, and only a few areas are inaccessible to travelers.

YET the question of whether it is acceptable to visit a country long ruled by a brutal military dictatorship has not gone away. Two years ago the answer was clear; today, it is less so.

Even though Mr. Thein Sein has ostensibly put the country on the path to democracy, Myanmar is hardly free from malign influences. The economy is largely controlled by individuals, like Mr. Tay Za, who amassed their fortunes through alliances with the dictatorship; hundreds of political prisoners remain locked up; and the army is still fighting rebels in northern Kachin State. In June, Buddhists in Arakan State, near the Bangladesh border, and Rohingyas, stateless Muslims who have long been discriminated against by the Burmese government, attacked each other after the rape and murder of a young Buddhist girl.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: The cover story on Aug. 5 about traveling in Myanmar misstated the one day of the year that the government allowed the Bogyoke Aung San house museum in Yangon to open in recent years. After being closed between 1999 and 2007, the museum was opened every July 19, the anniversary of Gen. Aung San's assassination -- not every July 17. (The government allowed it to reopen full time to the public in March.)

Book FlightsBook A HotelRent A CarBook A CruiseBook A PackageBook An Activity